ChoicePoint Chief Apologizes to Congress

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/03/15/national/w133749S61.DTL

ChoicePoint's chief executive apologized Tuesday to 145,000 customers exposed to identity theft but he had difficulty convincing some lawmakers the company was doing enough to resolve the problem.

Derek Smith's testimony before a House Energy and Commerce Committee panel was the first congressional appearance by a ChoicePoint executive since the data broker based in Alpharetta, Ga., disclosed last month that an enormous security breach compromised private information of Americans across the country.

"Let me begin by offering an apology on behalf of our company and my own personal apology to those consumers whose information may have been accessed by the criminals whose fraudulent activity ChoicePoint failed to prevent," Smith said.

Smith and LexisNexis CEO Kurt Sanford, whose company also had a recent breach involving information from 32,000 Americans, endorsed some proposals to toughen federal laws governing consumer privacy but resisted calls for a blanket prohibition on the sale of Social Security numbers.

[Jacobin]

1. Did he "accept full responsibility"?

If so, they will pass a bill absolving ChoicePoint of anything it has ever done wrong.....magic little phrase, perfected by Rumfilled.

[Robbien]

2. Sure. He says he's sorry to Congress. He knows which side the bread is

buttered. Bet he didn't loose one wink of sleep over all the trouble and grief he caused credit card holders.

[Atman]

3. Aww...they won't be able to find Congress' prostitute payments!

What a coinky-dinky!

[annabanana]

4. an apology and a dollar

will get you a pretty big candy bar

[Mithras61]

5. Would someone please get Smith & Sanford to explain to me how...

having tougher Federal standards will stop the theft of private information they are keeping in unsecured locations? Why the H3LL don't they just install some IT security systems and safeguard the data without having the Feds tell them that it's required? Are they stoopid, or just too cheap & lazy? Finally, if it is illegal to use an SSN for anything but identification to the SSA, why shouldn't it be illegal to buy & sell them?



And for the record... answer yes or no... have you stopped beating your wife?

[meti57b]

7. "if it is illegal to use an SSN for anything but identification to the SSA

why shouldn't it be illegal to buy & sell them?"

EXACTLY! It should be a federal crime to use it for any other purpose.

[slor]

6. I can hear it now...

"Sorry guys, I got caught".

[JDPriestly]

8. ChoicePoint

snoops on prospective employees for employers among many other things. Imagine the data they have that is subject to the right to privacy. Unbelievable that ChoicePoint could be so careless. They should not be "doing business." And, in my humble opinion, some of the business they do should not be done or at least should not be done for money.

[Karenina]

10. Now just imagine

how much INCORRECT data they be passin' on. :SIGH:

[Griffy]

9. This is the SAME company that provided "felon" list to FL in 2000!

and they said.. oops then too.. its laughable, if it werent them ripping the country off. I dont know what really happened, but you can bet it wasnt an accident and that it will benefit them somehow!

[w4rma]

11. Why is ChoicePoint still a profitable buisness when their core "product"

is defective?

[gizmo1979]

12. Start signing checks a-hole!

Start paying people who got ripped off back for your screwups!

[lostnfound]

13. Won't happen through class action suits; and bankruptcy not an option

for most, thanks to the latest laws passed. How convenient.